A Defense of Derek Anderson: Cleveland Browns Fans Must Own Up to Their Wrongs

In-group bias is a simple lecture-long topic in freshman psychology, so when its applications are actualized, surprise should stay dormant.

Nonetheless, the backlash towards Derek Anderson for his comments about his ex-employer are shocking.

To right the wrong, a less egotistical article will be written to give a fair assessment of the situation.

Derek Anderson made several comments after being cut. To summarize, he said Browns fans were ruthless, did not deserve a winner, and he hopes he gets a chance to beat his former team next year. Additionally, he mentioned he would never forget fans cheering while he lay injured.

For those unfortunate enough to experience the feeling of ligaments tearing inside the body, while joints bend on a previously uncharted axis, the event was horrifying. His own fans were cheering as he lay in intense pain sprawled out on the field. They were not cheering because he had played poorly, as one comment suggested. They were cheering because someone lay injured, clearly suffering.

It was one of the few times loyal Browns fans truly had a reason to feel embarrassed of their collective association. The show of brutality exemplified how little humanity has progressed since the Roman Coliseum.

Anderson may have shown a break in character by lashing out, but it was a drop in the ocean compared to the utter abandonment of class from some Cleveland fans. Browns fans took their cheap shot, and Anderson returned the sucker punch.

Assessing his comments, one Browns fan to another, he is absolutely right. The fans that cheered his injury were ruthless. Those particular fans don’t deserve a winner. It is perfectly logical for him to want beat the Browns up one end and down the other the next time he faces them. His comments were warranted and accurate.

So Browns fans, break the cycle. Show some class and take responsibility for what your fans did. Turn the other cheek, because any intelligent assessment concludes you deserve the blow dealt.